Saskatchewan Roughriders discuss the past without addressing the future

Saskatchewan Roughriders fans often had a reason to bolt for the nearest exit in 2015. On Wednesday, it was Craig Reynolds’ turn.

Following a dignitary-laden announcement pertaining to the CFL team’s plans for its farewell season at Mosaic Stadium, the Roughriders’ president-CEO hurriedly left the room without stopping to field questions from assembled reporters.

It was a media availability without a media availability, considering the predominant question on the mind of anyone with even a cursory interest in the franchise.

What’s the deal with Chris Jones?

The Roughriders have requested and received permission to talk with Jones, who on Sunday coached the Edmonton Eskimos to a 26-20 Grey Cup victory over the Ottawa Redblacks.

The Roughriders would like Jones to become their next head coach and general manager, although confirmation could not be obtained for reasons outlined earlier.

Jones did meet the media on Wednesday in Edmonton, when that team held its season-ending availability and actually made principal figures available to discuss front-of-mind, front-office issues.

“I like it here, I like winning football games, but certainly I have to keep my options open if opportunities arise,” Jones told reporters.

And it does appear that an opportunity will arise — and that his income will rise, perhaps exponentially.

If Jones lands in Saskatchewan, quarterback Darian Durant — he of the $500,000-per-year salary — will no longer be the highest-paid member of the Roughriders’ organization.

A team that once needed a $500,000 share of an NFL-financed loan to merely remain alive is seemingly poised to use its monetary might to successfully woo the CFL’s hottest coaching commodity.

For that, Reynolds — who was appointed the president-CEO some 50 weeks ago — deserves commendation. Adulation, even.

Clearly, he is not one for half-measures when it comes to repairing what ails the Roughriders, who are coming off a 3-15 season.

At the moment, that is his priority (as it should be), even at a time when the team is unveiling plans for a farewell to its iconic stadium — a story that will dominate the news at various points in the 2016 season.

Looking around the Roughriders’ locker room on Wednesday, one had to marvel at the array of luminaries.

There was everyone from George Reed to Roger Aldag to Paul Hill to Wayne Morsky to Dale West to Neal Hughes to Steve Mazurak to Norm Fong to Cleveland Vann.

Reed rewound to a day in 1963 when he was introduced to the Roughriders’ dressing room, which was then situated a few football fields away from Taylor Field, in a dingy room on the exhibition grounds.

Back then, the Roughriders practised on the infield of a racetrack. Nimble feet were required on many occasions to elude the horses as they circled Regina Exhibition Track, on the site where Queensbury Centre now stands.

On game day, the Roughriders would take a bus to and from the stadium. Back then, the Roughriders had one head coach, two assistant coaches, and one motor coach.

The iconic Reed noted that the Roughriders had “the worst facility in the world” when he arrived in Saskatchewan.

The dressing room, which was situated “above the cows,” had “three light bulbs” and “two pot-bellied stoves.”

On Wednesday, the only protuberant midsections were carried by select members of the media in a dressing room that “is like the Taj Mahal compared to what we had,” in the words of Reed.

There was also an elephant in the room — no snide remarks, please — given all the behind-the-scenes machinations.

It is a remarkable turn of events, considering the atmosphere that prevailed during Reed’s playing career.

Following the 1964 season, Bob Shaw — a head coach with whom Reed and Ron Lancaster had clashed for two years — left Regina to accept a more lucrative offer from the Toronto Argonauts ($20,000 per year, with a $5,000 annual bonus based on playoff performance).

Now it is the Roughriders’ turn to offer a rival head coach a huge raise.

Gone are the days when the Roughriders lost key players and coaches as a consequence of disparate financial resources.

Beginning in 2007, the Green and White became a powerhouse, with an emphasis on “Green.” People now yawn at perennial seven-figure profits, when once upon a time legendary GM Ken Preston had to manage the community-owned team with frugality in order to somehow keep it afloat.

Fast forward to December of 2015. The Roughriders are hoping to appoint a general manager who can eventually be mentioned in the same breath as Preston.

The next general manager will have a much nicer office and a comfier chair than Preston, not to mention a budget that would have caused him to fall off said chair.

In 2017, the successful candidate will move into a stadium that will be located on the same exhibition grounds where Lancaster once practised alongside Reed, Alan Ford, Hugh Campbell, Ed McQuarters, Ted Urness, Garner Ekstran, Gord Barwell, Ron Atchison ….

Remembering those players, and countless others who have endeared themselves to Roughriders fans for more than a century, the cluttered mind cannot help but focus on team’s rich tradition.

But there is also the reminder that the Roughriders have not been traditionally rich.

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